>> coming up tonight on c-span, at the days before the june 5 wisconsin recall election, a debate between scott walker and his opponent tom barrett. that is all by briefings by house speaker john boehner on the release of the may jobs numbers. later, president obama talks about jobs in the economy. the recall election in wisconsin held a debate on thursday. scott walker and tom barrett discussed the state's economy.

they also discussed investigations into the governor's staff. it is moderated by news anchors. this is a rematch of the 2010 state governor race when scott walker defeated tom barrett. >> the following is a special presentation of wisn 12 news. >> good evening. we are five days away from the historic gubernatorial recall election. >> we're proud to present a final joint campaign scott walker and tom barrett. >> this hour-long conversation will be moderated by our colleague, mike gousha. because of its importance, this

special is live and commercial- free. >> this is only the third time in our nation's history were citizens of the state have tried to recall a governor. >> the decision about how this chapter ends belongs to you on election day, june 5. >> done as for an extraordinary hour of debate on the issues that brought us here and those that will define our state's future. >> here is our colleague, mike gousha. [applause] >> hello. welcome to our conversation with the candidates. scott walkerd by and tom barrett. thank you for participating in tonight's broadcast. we are here at marquette university law school.

the rules for tonight's discussion are simple. we ask the candidates to join us for a conversation on where we have been and where we are heading. we asked the questions as directly and concisely as possible. we asked them to stay on point. i will manage the time that we spend on a particular topic. it canada will have a one minute closing statement, but there are no opening statements. we flipped a claim to see who will begin the conversation. we'll begin with governor scott walker. it is about what this contest really means. i do not want to overstate the importance of a single election in wisconsin. what does it mean? >> i have heard for years of people complaining that

politicians did not take on the tough issues. but that is exactly what we did. for all the talk of the recall, we do not hear much of it. our reforms are working. we saved and documented millions of savings. we have a budget surplus. despite what my opponent said, the u.s. labor a bureau of statistics confirmed the numbers we have documented in terms of jobs are created in a 2011 and creating in 2012. we have created new jobs since i have taken office. those are the things i would like to talk about tonight. >> what do you feel is at stake on tuesday? >> it is the picture of a stakt. he has traveled around the country being a rock star and

spending millions of money. it is not about the people in milwaukee or green bay. it is about the tea party movement and what he can do to make this a tea party capital of the country. those are not wisconsin values. i want us to get back to our values. i disagree with them. i do not think the reforms are working. those reforms are not working. look at families who are struggling to get their kids to college. we see rising tuition costs and fees. look at our schools. we have the largest average class size since 1995. those reforms are not working. they are working for the wealthiest in the state. >> you are leaning in as if you want to say something. but we can continue with discussion if you would like.

will work through all of the areas that you have laid out tonight. i do want to go back to the beginning of this. one of the things you often say in your speeches is that you refer to him as the divide and conquer candidate. most of us are familiar with that the deer tick conversation. most ofspeaking with -- us are familiar with that particular conversation. you're speaking with a wealthy donor. what did you mean by that? >> i meant that someone is to specialanto the interest. instead, we drew a line in the sand and said will put the power back into the hands of the taxpayers. he was to go back and restore

that. that will undo billions of dollars of savings. working families and seniors -- >> what are you try to conquer though? >> it is about standing up and finding someone who is willing to stand up for the hard- working taxpayers. for years, people have had to buy health insurance from just one company. we changed that. now we are literally and saving millions of dollars across the state. >> do you have any regrets saying that? >> i do not remember that context. i did not have any regrets for

standing up for the hard-working taxpayers. that's why people are attacking us. because we stood up for the taxpayers. >> he says that you do not talk much about collective bargaining. you talk about jobs. but you do not talk much about collective bargaining.ni >> let's be honest. the question was, how can we take away the rights of the working people? his response was, the first step is we will go after the public union and we will divide and conquer. there were three things that came out of that bill-one, it is clear that you would not stop the public union.

you would continue to pit people against each other. second, you wanted to pit people against each other. that is how to operate. at third, you wanted to use a crisis to do that. i think of our country and great leaders like franklin roosevelt, he tried to bring the country together in the crisis at the time. but you wanted to use the crisis to divide and conquer a state. it was not the first time you made a statement like that. you said that you will drop a bomb. you will divide and conquer. you said that he will drop the bomb. but in public, everyone is nice and gets along with each other. >> i said i was willing to take on the powerful specialists. i said that we will have to take on collective bargaining. there is no one to balance the

budget deficit without raising taxes. i put more money into medicaid than any governor in the wisconsin history. it cannot do all of those things unless you make long-term reforms. we could not have done that before without a reform. again, i did not mind having an exchange. that is a kind of thing that voters need to look out. the power belongs in the voters ' hands. >> i do not view the middle class as a special interest. that is the real issue here. there is a woman who owns a corporation. she is a billionaire. in 2010, her company pays no

tax. she makes a large contribution in the state's history. the reforms are working for her. she does not pay corporate income tax. you said you wanted to lower corporate income-tax rate. that is now working for the middle class. >> that is a good example. that was another governor in 2010. i want to lower taxes for the middle class. i reduced the taxes in the state. that is why unemployment is going down. it is why in contrast, unemployment has gone up in that state.

the middle class pays for the expansion of government in that state. that is not moving forward. we are standing up for them and moving the state what. >> i want to ask each of you a final question on this topic. >> sure. this is important. for eight years and work, you were the county executive of milwaukee. under your leadership, under your watch, we saw an increase in unemployment. we saw borrowing go up. the state level, you are using the same game plan. you put it on the credit card and you take it down the road. >> let me wrap this up with two questions. which provisions would restore?

>> i would restore the right to collectively bargain and to organize. that is a fundamental right. this is where there is a disagreement. the discussion of payment toward health care and pension, they agree to that. but scott did not accept that agreement. it was about going after your political enemies and permanently hurting their ability. he talks of taking on the special interest. let's face it. i was a candid in the primary. -- candidate amid the primary. -- in the primary.

>> let's hear what he has to say. >> they have been involved in attacking me when this all started. that is where the difference reside. i believe, fundamentally, you were only able to get savings because of our reforms. this is about fairness. we have hard-working taxpayers across the state who are paying into% or more for their health insurance, there are many cases who do not do this out of whack when you say to give the power back to the local level. >> i will be brief. he rose the question.

you said you have no idea of pushing support for that. would you be to the right to work if this legislation came to your desk? what is your response? would he veto it? >> i do not want to repeat that same debate. i think most people in the state of both parties want to move on and go president obama. the difference between myself and the mayor, the only thing that the mayor said he will do is replace the same debate over again. that is the difference between us. >> i would love to answer this question. he has become the rock star of the far right. he has spent millions of

dollars. you have to be against unions. that is one of the cabanes of the far right. -- commandments of the far right. he cannot say it. or else he would no longer be the poster boy of the tea party. that is why he cannot answer the question. >> the private unions have been my partner over the last few years. i have invested in the infrastructure that put people back to work. i put you in workers back to work. i've certainly try to do it when it comes to mining legislation. all of those were under private unions. >> those were the ones that he signed in. your mentor said it would never

hit his desk. mark my words. >> let's talk about economic development and jobs. you said after primary victory that this will be a referendum on the governor's jobs in record. a fair amount has changed over the last couple of weeks in terms of other numbers being represented. do you think this conversation has changed? is is still a referendum? or is it a different issue? >> i think trust comes into play. it is a huge issue. trust is what really started the uprising in madison. scott said he would go after public employees. trust is an issue. it is certainly an issue and it will continue to be an issue. >> so, jobs --

>> there are no tom barrett numbers. he lugged the numbers last year. then the numbers come out. under scott walker, they have lost jobs. then he says, we need to come out with a different set of numbers. think about it. >> you are saying that people intentionally misled us? >> they came out with a new set of numbers. the numbers that they did out of the numbers that the media uses. he realizes he has a media problem. again, this is we have the wisconsin common-sense test. they bring up these numbers and amazingly, four hours later, there is is commercial sta ting amazing numbers.

>> so, you are claiming that these numbers? he wants to brag about these numbers. those are scott walker numbers. >> you presented numbers. >> it is not uncommon to present numbers early in. by the way, he says he is sticking by this argument. it is completely ignoring what the law requires. what happened here is that you have a monthly sample done. that is the number that the mayor based his entire ad campaign on.

that is a sample from each month. in comparison, we're required to have submitted by may 16 of this year, the numbers of employers across the state. it acknowledge it is the best numbers of jobs in the state. the u.s. bureau labor he said s said -- yesterday they said an e-mail. they have reviewed and verified the numbers. instead of the first number, it went up here. >> what did they say today? to look at the paper. -- do not look at the paper.

>> this they verified that they have reviewed and verified the numbers. the facts are the facts. wisconsin gained jobs in 2012. we gained jobs in 2011. there has been more than 30,000 jobs. the unemployment rate is 6.7%. but a% increase -- 28% increase because of your policies. they pointed out that you do not have a plan for economic development. we have a plan and it is working. it is moving the state would. that is a plan that people have to make. >> if that is what you are proud

of, if you want to be mediocre and dead last, these are your numbers. they are dead last in the mid- west. >> the mayor is excepting that those are the numbers. that is what they are. >> are you disappointed with where you are? >> unemployment was over 9%. we have gained were than 30,000 jobs. the unemployment is down to 6.7%. this is in huge contrast to past years. the last thing they want is a mirror of a city where the unemployment -- mayor of a city where the unemployment is horrendous. >> your plan is to spend that

goes barely 2 miles. that is the choice between the two of us. one plan moves backwards and the other moves the web. >> in terms of economic development, can you name something that is not being done today that you would do to create jobs? >> you have to tie job creation and the tax credits together. the tax code has to be tied together. when governor walker came in, the first thing he did was benefit corporations. it benefited people who were wealthy. again, middle class, you are under own. -- your own. then he said, we have a budget crisis. he bit the largest cut that education had ever seen. -- made the largest cut that education had ever seen.

again, going back to what we talked about, he put this package. it was the worst economic performance in the mid-west. >> you are saying they are not trying tax credits to jobs right now? >> they are looking for financial assistance. how many jobs are you creating? if you are creating jobs in this community and creating a family- supporting jobs, we will look for ways to work with you. but he never asked that question. this is why did we have a situation where corporations do not pay any taxes. they love him. but what about the struggling, small business people? >> the very first thing he did

was help -- >> the very first thing i signed into law was help small farmers and business owners. i visited and traveled around the state. our budget held with tax incentives in place. during the primary, mr. mayor, you were talking about repealing it. >> certain wealthy individuals could pay no income tax whatsoever. >> it is not about individuals. >> the two biggest industries in wisconsin. i was at a company yesterday. i have been to all of them over the state. if you're manufacturing is small in the state, one of the biggest expenses you have is investment

in capital. we will bring jobs back to china and india. i have been out on the road and talking to manufacturers and farmers about what they need to put people back to work. we talked about the hiring outlook being abolished. -- bullish. today, 94% believe we are heading in the right direction. the number one concern that is that come june 5, they want to be sure that we can move. we want to move forward. >> mayor, i will give you a chance to respond. >> people who make a lot of money, i will let knowledge

that. what we need to be concerned about is people who are middle class and want to be middle class. the strength of this country has always been and middle class for people can support their families and kids can go to college. the actions he has taken has made it more expensive for kids to go to college. that is a fact. if we are not want to be investing in the future of the state, then we are making a huge mistake. i disagree with the notion that we had to have the largest cuts ever in the state's history to education. >> i think this is good, the conversation of cuts on education. there is something that goes like this -- first is to be prosperous, they really do need a highly skilled workers. they need people who have more college degrees.

that is necessary. it makes sense. does it make sense to cut into education? they look at the school districts all across the state? >> we look at school districts across the state that have benefited from our reforms. many have balance their budgets. did you were able to hire more teachers and lower claustrum size -- they were able to hire more teachers and lower classroom size. in the end, that means we can put the best in the clashes and keep them there. i saw the difference.

the tools were not given the zero. -- a given. the reason we were able -- the last 10 years, there has been a survey. the mayor wants to go back to the system under collective bargaining where they did not have that freedom. they could not make those changes. did it had to do what they were told to do. some of the best teachers were the first ones laid off because they were not given reforms. there are a handful of districts to have yet to take advantage of the reforms. >> the reality is, 3% of the schools have cut teachers. -- 30% of the schools have

cut teachers. that reform is not working. any parent in in this audience is not thrilled by the fact that their student will be in a larger class. that is the reality. look at the technical schools. he cut it at 30%. the very people who are skills to cut 30%. did you look at the university. to top that off, he goes back to the divide and conquer strategy and tries to pit madison against the other campuses which result in higher tuition and more kids from out of state going to that school. >> this is a budget question. a if you had a $3.6 billion deficit, you have to make big decisions. >> there are big pots of money

and only so many places. you have to make hard decisions to come up with $3.6 million. >> you will look everywhere. this is the difference between our style. he picked his political opponents. one after one he picked them off. no notion of shared sacrifice. it was these people are against me, i am going after them. we did have a crisis. i will go back to those great leaders. in a time of crisis you bring people together. i will ask the schools to do something. i will ask local government to do something. i also will not turn a round of cuts to corporations that are not even tied to creating jobs. >> could this have been less painful for these goals of the sec, i will not do tax incentives are enough for business. we are broke as a state.

apparently there was enough money for tax -- >> we have a economic and fiscal crisis. i went across the state for a year and a half and i heard, you need to fix both the economic and fiscal crisis. everything we did was tied into creating more jobs. the other part was in terms of balancing the budget. unlike states and the past under people like governor doyle, we give the schools the reforms. the difference the mayor talked about, there are a couple of key differences. the differences and some schools fairing well, it is literally a handful that did not take advantage of our reforms. long term you want to put more money into the classroom, use our reforms. districts who did it have faired fairly well. today is the 50th day since the mayor was asked what his plan

would be. this is fundamentally about what we are doing in the last year and a half, the mayor has a moral obligation to tell people what exactly he would have done differently. we have not heard that and i do not think we will hear it. my guess is he will do what he did in milwaukee. >> i balance the budget a years in a row as the mayor of the city. we were able to accomplish that. the taxes were comparable to the taxes as they were in the county. take a look at those and you will see them. the differences, he would not leave. they would come back the next year and use those numbers. i am a leader. i will take responsibility for what i do. he would not irresponsibility for that. if you look at what he introduced, they are millions of dollars higher. you would think he had nothing to do with it.

this budget he spent $1.1 billion more than the last budget. that sounds like an increase in spending to me. clear, the mayor does not have a plan and all he has a attacking me. that is what you heard. he did answer the question because he does not have a plan. >> i would not have started by giving a $2.3 billion cut to corporations and cuts that benefit the wealthiest people in the state at a time of an economic crisis. i would have brought people together around the table and said to the schools, you will be part of this. let's go back to the facts here. they did not support me in the primary. why? they know i am not a pushover. the differences i respect them and i respect their ability to be at the table, not to on the table but to be at the table.

>> very briefly. >> request $6 billion budget deficit. not some hypothetical one in the future, in this budget is about $200 million out of a $3.6 billion budget deficit or tax incentives connected to jobs, some of the biggest or eliminating state accounts which is beneficial to small business and family farmers. you can talk about what will be 10 years down the road, but that does not allow you to balance the budget. there is no plan when it comes to budget or economic development. i am the only one with a plan. >> mayor barrett, you have been pushing the john doe, asking the governor to answers to questions the say the people of the state have. let's spend a couple of minutes on this. what are you saying exactly? are you suggesting he is engaged in criminal behavior?

is this politics? >> a lot of these questions, scott can be the one who answers. this is all about trust. today another one of his key personnel is granted immunity. the 13th person to be granted immunity. she was granted immunity because she refused to answer questions on the ground may incriminate her. others in his office have been charged with crimes. it all surrounds a secret illegal computer system that was 25 feet from your office. i have asked you some pretty easy questions. release the e-mails. release the e-mails that you have that are tied to this. they are tied to this secret illegal computer system. tell us who is paying a criminal defense fees. are the only governor in this country that has a criminal defense lawyer. you owe it to the people of the state to tell them who is

paying your criminal defense fees. >> again, let me preface one thing. the last segment we were on leads into why he is talking about this. he does not have a plan. but i will answer this question. this is not new information. my office when i was county executive ask for this. we asked for this because at the time we were unable to get information from volunteers involved in the veterans' organization. they continue to be just as frustrated. that is where the process begins. for us to be in a position where we can cooperate, i said time and time again i am not a target of this. you are a lawyer. you understand a lot. i have taken a both to uphold the constitution and to abide by the rules. the rule that the district attorney asked us to be involved with, to go forward -- i think

the record is clear. this is public knowledge. this is not something we are violating the rules on. and somebody said somebody had violated our strict policy against using public resources for political purposes, i took action. we took swift action in our lives. we took action that day. by the end of the day that person was no longer working there. my integrity has always been high. it will be a high level integrity long after this is done. the reason the mayor wants to talk about this is because he is not winning on jobs, the budget, reforms, and he wants to keep coming back desperately hoping something will click even though there is no basis for it.

>> if i follow the rules i can. you have something you can reveal. the city of milwaukee is withholding data from the police department that the milwaukee sentinel found out when looking at a sample a week ago even though you said in the state of the city address you are running for mayor and even you said last month of the primary campaign the violent rate had gone down, the investigative team found out that was not the case. it has gone up. they have an open records case for hundreds of more cases. if you want to talk about revealing things, i think the voters deserve to know that as well. >> he is running a commercial right now. he shows the picture of a dead baby. that baby died. the person who killed the baby

was arrested by the milwaukee police. it was prosecuted by the district attorney. they did their job. you know what they did wrong? after the baby died, they did not change the code. it was a bureaucratic mistake. we said we would fix that. you are running a commercial attacking my integrity claiming that i did something -- that i had something to do with this. you know that is false. you are running that commercial. you tell me whether you think i had anything to do with it. >> i am asking you -- >> i will tell you right now. i had nothing to do about that. you should be ashamed of that commercial. >> the reason we point that out is author of the primary campaign you said one of the key reasons they should vote for you is because your leadership brought about a drop in violent crime. a violent crime has not gone down. i think if it was worded to say

they should vote for you because it had gone down, the same question is completely legitimate and reverse. i live a few blocks from the city morgue. i do not want to go up anymore than anyone else does. you look at the men and women who represent the police department, they are frustrated with furloughs. >> i want to go back to the john doe. >> i have a police department that the arrests felons. he has a practice of hiring them. >> let me go back to a couple. he made. you are not in a position where you can comment on these things. there was an article in the sentinel. if you have not testified in front of them, you are not bound

by the secrecy orders. you could really see mails conceivably. why have we not then that? >> because throughout this process of cooperating, he has asked us not to comment on the particulars. all of those things you mentioned are accurate. this is through the district attorney's office. we will continue to that. the reality is we complied with everything we have been asked to do. you look at the record, the milwaukee journal sentinel talk about e-mails. if you look at the statement of fact mentioned in that story,

the reality is nobody won the bet. the only thing that one in that bed or the taxpayers because my administration consolidated space with an account a building. time and time again the facts show like they have been true on job numbers and budget reforms and everything else the facts are on our side. >> i want to give you a chance to respond. he cannot talk about it because the dea said he cannot talk about it. the judge said if he has the records he can do it. since you brought it up, releaser e-mails with their treasurer, he was the head of your transition team. his name has been thought about. it clear this up. that is all you have to do. i do have to ask you about something that came out tonight. i saw i quote from one of your spokespeople. it was published shortly after 7:00 tonight. it addresses this issue. you said you had brought the

suspicions you had about behavior revolving around the fund, you brought that to the attention of the d a. this article says -- i am quoting, it cannot at 7:18. prosecutors opened the john doe investigation two years ago after being stonewalled by scott walker's office. the document appears to cast doubt on his claims and cooperating with the probe. what is your response to that? what's there is no direct " in their from anybody involved in it. what the " says is that they are unwilling or unable. i mentioned when you first asked me that our office was unable to get information from an individual outside of the office. that led to our frustration. our chief of staff -- we are in a position where we are unable

to get that information. >> why would john chisholm have said months ago when he brought of these issues, he said, this is not political. the county executive times office asked us to look into this. it is another example of other issues. the reality is they always prove what we say. >> i have been in public life for 28 years. nobody on my staff has ever been charged with a crime. i have never had a criminal defense fund. >> let's talk a little bit about a subject the two of you touched on earlier about the city of milwaukee. you spoke about that you do not like the tone of the campaign commercials the governor is running or statements to the

fact we do now wisconsin to be like milwaukee. is your record not fair game in this? milwaukee has many attributes and also has serious issues. why is that not fair game? what's i think it is fair game like his record is fair game. it is true that this city like many other cities has been hit by an economic downturn. it is true this city is a place in the state where most people of low and come reside. it is easy to attack the city. it fits in very comfortably with somebody who likes a divide and conquer strategy. to fit -- to pit people against each other. you definitely have to stand up for the city. he is trying to convince people not to go to summer for us, do not go to the brewers games. he is scared of milwaukee. i am here to say, this is a

great city. do not let our governor make you afraid to come to the city. he is trying to do it for political gain that. that is wrong. >> you talk about in your ads about crime, poverty, things like that. milwaukee also generates a lot of wealth, it is home for fortune 500 companies, it is the arts capital of the state. are you doing collateral -- collateral damage to this city? >> i do not think so at all. i love this city. my wife was born here and went to school here. i love the city. this is a classic example where the mayor says part of what i say and not everything else. i want to help the city of milwaukee be more like the good

things being done for the state of wisconsin. i want that for any city. i want to have more positive reforms out there. for years i traveled the state on my motorcycle talking about the tourism and people coming to summer fest, the state fair. people coming to miller part. an interesting contrast, let's look at this. i started out with my administration and other key members of my a cabinet putting together a milwaukee plan because i did not see that happening in the city of milwaukee. that is a stark contrast to the mayor talking about putting $100 million in a trolly going to the -- going two miles. i want to focus on rebuilding our industrial core so manufacturers of small businesses can grow in the city and everywhere across the state.

>> when there was a mortgage foreclosures settlement, and like ohio and other states that have republican governors, he did not give the portion to people who were victims of the foreclosure crisis. he used to plug budget hole. a second aid and switch for homeowners. i received a mass layoff notice from one of the main companies we have in the central city of milwaukee. he terminated a contract with them. we are going to have dozens of people lose their jobs. that is not a governor trying to work with the city. that is a governor trying to score political points at the expense of the city. >> 35 jobs he is talking about versus thousands i am talking about to transform a lucky. we are looking at a targeted investment in some of the most impoverished sections of the city. all the way from the north and through the ballet down to the

south side by the airport. >> do you welcome the state's efforts? >> i was saying, he is counting executive for eight years. i could not think of a single company he helped. lo and behold 30 days before an election he announces this initiative. when a remarkable coincidence. >> which started in april of last year. that is how you roll up your sleeves to get things done. >> i want to spend some time on the spending that has occurred in this election. we had some people in the northern part of the state. they talk to citizens who cannot believe how much money is being spent. they do not believe they are part of the discussion. they feel like union organizations are controlling the discussion. they do not feel like this is effecting them in a way. do we need to do something

about it? do we learn lessons from the recall and say after the election we deal with campaign finance reform are is that something we do not deal with? >> absolutely. if you go back to citizens united and what that has done, -- let's focus on wisconsin. that is one reason this is still a close race. people know there is something fundamentally wrong with you have a sitting governor who raises 70% of his money from out of state. a lot of the money is coming from billionaires who do not care at all about this state. they view him as a rock star of the far right and will do their bidding to bring these conservative ideas here and make this a an experimental basis for the far right. they love that. they found a place where they can push through the key party agenda. that is what he is willing to do for them. >> there is money coming from the left. there is money coming from

different organizations. what's i would like to be in a position where he is ripping me as much as -- the went to see about me are 32nd drive-by shootings. people say i recognize you from tv. i say it is probably from a commercial ripping my face of. >> would you support a special session on campaign finance reform? >> absolutely. i would absolutely support a special session on an economic initiative as well. >> would you? what's the best thing we have to do right off the bat is change the recall laws. after this election on tuesday you will see a democrat and republican lawmakers alike, the populace as a whole want to change this. >> if somebody puts that on your desk, you will sign it and change it?

>> it requires a special session because there requires a chance to the state constitution. that requires two consecutive sessions. you have to bring it up again next spring. passant hopefully for the voters next year. -- pass it hopefully for the voters next year. people have come across the political spectrum -- one year and a half ago these attacks started against me when millions of dollars came in from washington and the bodies came in from elsewhere. a 70% of my contributions are people giving $50 or less. >> there are three enormous contributions from out-of-state. cox from a person who gave me $25 in janesville yesterday's or the person who gave us $50, it is people who care there is finally somebody who will stand up and take on special interests. long after this we can move on

and move forward. the only way we do not do that is if the mayor is elected. at that point i think you start -- i think you will see this all over again. we only when an end to it if i am able to fill out the term. judge me on our record and what we have done. if we have a new person come in the middle of the term i think -- i do not think anyone wants that. >> scott walker came to become executive following a recall. he says he does not recall whether% recall petitions against fine gold. i will tell you right now any member of the state legislature who signs a recall petition against a united states senator remembers that. he remembers that. >> do you have evidence he signed it? what's it was very active in the

first movement. i raised this several times and he never denied it. all he says now is i have no memory of that. scott is obviously a sharp dive. you remember what you signed a recall petition when you are a member of the state legislature. that is something you do not forget. >> did you sign it? >> i do not believe i did. but i do not recall. it was 15 years ago. anybody who is here from milwaukee county remembers one decade ago that was misconduct in office. he was involved in a pension scandal that today still costs the taxpayers of milwaukee tens of millions of dollars. i was the only elected official who would stand up and take him on. the man mayor sat silent. -- the major sat silent.

they voted for me for county executive for the first time. nobody else had the courage to stand up and say they would take him on. he resigned shortly thereafter. i think that was legitimate. i think that kind of misconduct is something that warrants a recall election. >> economy go back to the campaign finance stuff. -- let me go back to the campaign finance stuff. he accepts to checks for $500,000 -- you could probably take his top dozen daughters and a match and amount of money that i raised in the primary from 10 donors. >> of a wealthy person came to you in this campaign -- >> that is another part of it.

democrats and republicans will want to change everything to do with the recall. they are sick of it. they see what it is projected to cost. people are sick of it. >> i think that is something we agree on. let me make this point. scott walker started this civil war. you and i know that if you had accepted back in february of 2011 the offer from those employees to allow them to pay towards their health care, and towards their pensions we would not be sitting here tonight. >> that is fundamentally wrong. there are 1700 municipalities. there are 424 school districts. there is no way somebody can do that. actions speak louder than words. while that was being said, you had unions at the local level running out to rush for contracts that had no

additional health-care contribution, anywhere close to what their statewide leaders were saying they would take. >> you do not believe -- >> they proved it through action. you should know that as well as a local official. local bargaining can make the difference. if we had done that on a patchwork bases, we had some schools that would benefit and some that would not. >> he did not even try. >> let me bring this to a close. we are at closing statements already. mayor barrett, take your minute. >> i want to thank all the viewers for joining us tonight. i want to make one thing clear. i have no intention to be the rock star of the far right. i have no intentions of being the rock star of the far left. what i want to be as rock-solid as governor of the state who

will work to create jobs and look out for the middle class to increase investment in education and make sure our children and grandchildren can have a chance to be here. this is an important election. is an election about trust. i am asking you to trust me. i am asking you to do everything you can to make sure we restore wisconsin values and we have a governor who is acting consistently with those values. that is why i am asking for your vote tuesday, june 5. >> gov. walker, one minute. >> thank you to everyone at home. thank you for the opportunity to serve. i ask for your vote again june 5. the woman came up and tell me she was a democrat and proceeded to tell me she was voting for me. she said you sell me. i said i have not even talk yet. she said it is not what you say,

it is what you are willing to do. she acknowledges she does not agree with every step i have taken. she appreciates somebody had the courage to take on the tough challenges. it is not unique to the moms and dads we need all across the state who every day get up and work hard and factories and farms and schools and small businesses all across the state for the same reason i do. my son's man and alex, i see my two nieces. for every other kid and granted by them in the state, i want to make sure they inherit a wisconsin at least as great as the wisconsin we inherited. with your help by ask for your vote so that together we can move the >> and that brings our conversation to an end. want to thank the candidates, tom barrett and scott walker. we want to thank our audience here and the audience at home

and around the world. also, a special thanks to our sponsors. i am mike gousha. election date is june 5. we hope we will vote. [applause] >> if you would like to see this debate again in its entirety, will bring it to you at midnight here on c-span. next tuesday, watching the results of the wisconsin recall election. >> saturday on "washington journal" the chief economic correspondent for the washington

times. she joins us to discuss the may jobs numbers. economy added 69,000 new jobs. unemployment raised to 8.2%. bolling, michafollowing is michl greenberger. after that, allan coukell. "washington journal" airs saturday 7 a.m. on c-span. >> of the unemployment rate raised from 811% to 8.2%. the labor department released -- 8.1% to 8.2%.

the labor department released the report. this is 10 minutes. >> good morning, everyone. it was pretty clear that the american people are still asking the question, where are the jobs? another month of disappointing job gains. it is clear the american people are hurting. small businesses continue to avert hire any additional people. it is clear that the policies we have seen are not working. i would just hope that the president and my colleagues in the senate would look at our plan to create american jobs. over 30 bills are sitting in the senate. we can help the american people at a time of this great need if the senate would just look at the bills that are before us.

i come up here every day and every week to make clear that our focus is the focus of the american people. their focus is on this economy and jobs. that is why this continues to be our focus each and every day. it will remain that way. the american people are in a desperate spot. millions of americans have lost their jobs. they are looking for work. it is time for us to change your policies to put people back to work. >> good morning. these jobs numbers are prophetic. the american people really deserve better. i think under the right leadership, we can do better. be in the house remain committed to doing everything we can -- we in the house remained committed to doing everything we can to help this country. that is why you will see as to

continue to focus. we will not allow taxes to go up on anyone. we will put a bill on the floor this summer to make sure. we also believe strongly that the uncertainty provided by the president pose a health care bill is -- president pose a health care bill is weighing down the country. we want to repeal the obamacare bill. will stop the regulation coming out of washington. they are proving to be an obstacle to job creators. we need to get this economy going again. >> i guess the only news this morning is that three and a half

isrs later, the president's these are still failing. millions of americans still remain unemployed. three and a half years later, millions of americans are under employed. again, his policies continue to fail. this should not be a surprise. if you threaten the single largest tax increase, you not get robust economic growth. if you have an avalanche of new regulation, you will not have robust economic growth and job growth. if you go about vilifying success and enterprise, you not have robust economic growth. if you engage in serial

trillion billion dollar deficits, you'll not get robust economic growth. unfortunately for our constituents, it did have seen their gas price is almost double under this administration. look around and they see their friends and neighbors unemployed under this administration. it is three and a half years later. his policies are still failing the american people. >> as i look at these numbers, i cannot help but think of the millions of americans who are continuing to look for work and are unable to find jobs. i also think about the fact that when president obama was elected, he said that if he had not turned the economy around in three years, he would not be in office in his fourth year. after he was inaugurated, the

cornerstone of his economic plan for america was a stimulus package. it was an $800 billion stimulus package with a record amount of spending. he told the congress at that time, if you pass the stimulus package, and a plan that would not go above 8%. by this time, unemployment should be below 6%. it is clear that has not happened. i cannot help but think it did not have to be this way. we could have taken an approach that really focused on unleashing a private sector. the reason why republicans oppose the stimulus package, the big government approach, was because we believed there was a better way that focused on the private sector. president obama could have taken a lesson from president reagan in the 1980's. reagan inherited a much more difficult economy. inflation was high gear. interest rates were off the

charts. reagan had an economy that was booming. we need a course correction. we need an approach coming out of this administration that is more focused on the private sector and what it will take to unleash the entrepreneurial spirit in this country again. >> part of the president is going to minnesota -- today the president is going to minnesota. what would you say to the president today? >> he might want to engage with democrats and republicans here on capitol hill to handle the big policies that are effecting our economy. whether it is the tax rates that will expire at the end of the

year, or whether it is the sequestered that will be due to go into effect in january that t our our militaryu military. maybe he should get out of his rugby game to talk with us. [laughter] >> you are basically saying, a vote for us? >> we believe over the last three and a half years, our plans would have the economy a in a much better place.

>> many of them are preaching compromise. why are you highlighting such a difference? would it be easier to get things done? >> candidates are on the list. we did not use them for the demographics or the style. they happen to be good candidates for us. >> [inaudible] >> are you talking about a 30 bills that are sitting in the senate? pass them. help the american people instead of playing politics.

>> kagen as any specifics? >> i am not an economist. -- can you give any specifics? >> i am not an economist. but with our bills, more americans would have jobs and better incomes. >> do you think that maybe something can get done? >> we have worked together on the free-trade agreements. we work together to pass the veterans jobless bill. i can get out the long list. we have worked together. there are a number of places we have found common ground. but it is a constant search.

it is hard to sit down and find common ground when the president is always out campaigning every day. !> speaker boehner >> loud mouth, and relaxed. -- relax. [laughter] >> [inaudible] >> the senate has passed a bill. we are in conference. they are working diligently to come to an agreement. we need to put americans back to work. included in there is our provisions, like the keystone pipeline. it would create nearly 20,000 jobs. this will help put americans

back to work. >> [inaudible] >> they when their own way in 2009 and 2010 on virtually every bill. they have created quite a mess. our job is to stay focused on what the american people are most concerned about. that is exactly what we have done. >> now that mitt romney is definitely the candidates, the have any appearances with him? >> no. >> what about major lumber? >> i like mayor bloomberg but me? you kidding a

[laughter] >> i will pass it along. >> house democratic leadership also held a news conference on the latest jobs numbers. house speaker nancy pelosi and 90 norminority whip talk. >> good morning. nice to see you here in the crowd of visitors visiting the capital. it is pretty exciting. what did they pose a jobs report, it is clear that we have work to do. this is the 27th month of increased and continued job increases in our economy, it is certainly not enough.

it is clear from that jobs number that we have work to do. we know it. the american people know it. american families across the country know it. it is clear that one way we can help is to pass the transportation bill. it is instructive to read the jobless numbers this morning. the job loss in the construct ion sector was the largest of them all. we need to pass the transportation bill. it is a bipartisan transportation bill. republicans will say that they sent 30 bills over to the senate. they have sent 30 pieces of messages. we do not need 30 messages. we need one good bill. that is the transportation bill. it has been passed in a

bipartisan way in the senate's . this is a bill that has historically had bipartisan support. the senate bill is a good bill that will create 2 million jobs. let's get on with it. let's get the work done. i am calling upon the speaker to bring and middle class income tax cut on the floor. it will grow our economy and create jobs. we need to get this done. the time is long overdue. with that, i will yield to my distinguished colleague, the democratic whip. >> thank you, madam leader. i was disappointed with the jobs numbers that came out today.

the private sector gained 82,000 jobs. the public sector lost 13,000 jobs. the good news is that we have had 27 months straight of job growth. 11 quarters of economic growth in our country. but progress is too slow because of the gridlock and lack of agenda that is being pursued by our republican colleagues in congress. gridlock in terms of the highway bill that was passed with 74 votes, half of the republican caucus. three-quarters of the senate passed the highway bill. that highway bill was sponsored by one of the most liberal members and co-sponsored by one of the most conservative members of republicans. they came together. they knew we needed to invest in

infrastructure to create and grow jobs and to invest in making our country more competitive. unfortunately, that bill could not get through the house wr representatives. that bill has been opposed on the floor of the house. we find ourselves 30 days from the highway bill expiring. it would create jobs and make us more competitive. >> you could make it in america. [laughter] >> that is part of our make it in america agenda. we need to go our economy and invest in our people and invest in creating jobs. in doing so, we will create jobs. unfortunately, under the bush

administration, a 4 million jobs were lost in the last year of the bush administration. we are going the economy. the recession has ended. we're not going fast enough. if you do not have a job, this is a depression for you. if your home is under water, this is a depression for you. one way we can give confidence to the markets is not put at risk the credit worthiness of the united states. we cannot play another political game with the debt limit of this country and undermine again economic growth and confidence. i am hopeful that we will move ahead. we will great consensus and create jobs. we need to pass the highway bill and grow our jobs.

thank you. >> thank you, mr. whip. >> how are things going? >> that will be when they are ready to bring a bill to the floor. i am concerned that there are rumors that there will be another extension. that would be completely inappropriate. she is optimistic. they had bipartisan support in the senate. as he said, from right to left, you would have to be a good portion this to be able to expand our opinion. they have come together in a bipartisan way to create 2

million jobs. this is so important to our country. this is about the infrastructure of america. this is about how our people travel and how commerce is moot. this is how broadband and water to be supplied. this is about our and the structure and as for taking. they have neglected it. it is time for the republicans to stop stalling on the transportation bill, which will create bills. stop stalling on middle income tax cuts. stop implying that we would not honor the credibility of the united states of america. this is about creating jobs. it is time for them to stop stalling. until they can put forward a bill, that is how i view their performance. >> it is said it will extend all

of the tax cuts and extend sequestration. >> i will not support that. we need to take the matter at hand and do with it. we know that there should be an end to the high end tax cuts the bush tax cuts. they are deepening the deficit. we need to create jobs. we need to educate our children. we need to reduce the deficit. these tax cuts do not create jobs. i would not be supportive of that. >> punting should not be an option.

bunting will undermine confidence. -- punting will undermine confidence. they are not participating in growing the economy because they do not have confidence. it is because of the gridlock in washington. punting will continue to undermine the confidence that congress can work. congress needs to work. how does it work? it comes together and agree to compromise and not confrontation. the three bills the were referred to earlier have all seen compromise reached in the u.s. senate. unfortunately, we have not been able to do that in the house of representatives. the american economy sees that.

punting will simply be another indication of, there they go again. they simply cannot reach an agreement. i believe the single biggest thing we can do for the economy is to show the american people on the highway bill, the student loan bill, the violence against women bill, and a big and bold balanced plan for putting our country on a fiscally, sustainable, credit were the past. those of the biggest things we can do. we can have perhaps more than 400,000 jobs. remember the clinton administration when we grow the economy by 22 million jobs over eight years. >> is there a concern that

regardless of what happens here, with the banking crisis --e ke >> there is no doubt that what is happening in the global economy affects us. but the fact is, we are in charge of our own house. we cannot stall and punt. that is not an agenda for growing our economy. whatever is happening elsewhere, our house is in order. i fear that this obstruction is not just about trying to make the bomb administration look some peopleis what wa

say. i do not subscribe to that. i described that doing nothing is the republican agenda. there is a jobs bill is a bill that says let's give taxes to their ranch. it will trickle down. in the words of the speaker, so be it. we do not say, so be it. we do not say, amen to that. we are part of the will economy. we we care about what happens in the world economy and in europe. stop the stalling. stop the punting.

stop the obstruction. pass the transportation bill. move all doubt that we will honor our full faith and credit. we will review our budget that is responsible and create jobs. >> i want to say one additional thing. i am convinced that the european seized stability, a consensus, and movement. a strong, secure, thoughtful program in the u.s. to put our country on a fiscally sustainable, critical path. the european economy is affecting us. but we are the leader. that will help us. >> [inaudible]

>> we are waiting to see what the bill is that they will put forward. i am interested to see the bill. i have not been on record one way or the other on the keystone. the fact is, that issue should intervene with this bill. over the years, it has been bipartisan. i do not think this is about the keys done. i think it is about obstruction. >> i think leader pelosi is absolutely right. i am for the keystone.

every project like that needs proper consideration. and is to go through proper consideration and make sure it is environmentally safe. having said that, the senate has strong views on the keystone as well. the failure of the house to come to an agreement as the senate republicans did is undermining the growth of our economy. >> we're calling upon republicans to stop stalling on the transportation bill. create jobs now. bring it to the floor. we hope that they will do it soon. we are concerned we do not see it coming now. recognize that the construction trade is the biggest source of job loss that we are talking about. it is shameful.

it is urgent for our country to build our infrastructure. it is part of who we are. the people that you see, they built the canals and roads. the transcontinental railroad. i saw because we celebrated this weekend, the 75th anniversary of the golden gate bridge. it is also the 75th anniversary of the bay bridge. the fact is, even in a depression, the public have the confidence and the urgency of building infrastructure. we need to do it now. stop stalling. thank you. >> next thursday, ben bernanke

addresses the joint economic committee. his remarks will focus on the economic outlook. live coverage next thursday, at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span, c- span 3. talks made gems numbers. -- talks may jobs numbers. after that, michael green berger speaks about the fema

disaster preparedness. >> and to younger americans. today, a growing number of our fellow citizens are worried about the same disparities and the visions and problems that nearly five decades ago some thought to address. i have traveled across the country. i have heard it consistent drumbeat of concern from citizens. they have reason to believe. some of the achievements of the civil-rights movement hangs in the balance. >> watched the rest of his address at the summit online, at the c-span at video library. >> president obama was in minneapolis to talk about jobs

and the economy in honeywell golden valley facility. he also attended a campaign fundraiser. 35 minutes. [cheers and applause] >> hello. it is good to be back in minnesota. it is good to see your governor here. [cheers and applause] on the way, we were making sure that the vikings were safe. that is hard for a man to do.

i was cheering for a them. you have added an outstanding senators -- two outstanding senators. outstanding delegation is in the house. give them a round of applause. [cheers and applause] i thought ryan was very good. give him a big round of applause. [cheers and applause] he is a natural. one of the last times i was

here, it was last august. we took a bus tour around the state. i stopped for some typie. i went to a town hall. alan ate my pie. [laughter] today we're still fighting our way back from the worst recession we have seen since the depression. as we learned in today's jobs

report, we are still not creating jobs as fast as we want. just like at this time last year, our economy is still facing some serious head winds. we have had high gas prices a few months ago. they are starting to come down. they are still hitting people's wallets pretty hard. most recently, we have a crisis in europe's economy. that is having an impact worldwide. we have a lot of work to do before we get to where we need to be. all of these factors have made it even more challenging to not as fully recover, but to lay the foundation for an economy that is built to last over the long term. but that is our job. from the moment we first took action to prevent another

depression, we knew the road to recovery would not be easy. we knew it would take time. we knew there would be ups and downs along the way. but we also knew that if we were willing to act wisely and boldly and act together as americans, we were would not just come back -- we would come back stronger than ever. that was our belief. [applause] that continues to be my belief. we will come back stronger. we have better days ahead. that is because of all of you. that is because of all of you. my bets on american

workers any day of the week. [cheers and plause] you have been fighting through this economy with gritnd innovation. honeywell is a great example. doing a lot of great work. that is why our auto industry is coming back. that is why manufacturing is consistently adding jobs for the first time since the 1990's. [applause] all that is happening because of you. everyone here plays by the rules and works hard and you deserve leaders to do the same. we need to move this economy

forward. that is what you deserve. we cannot fully control everything that happens in other parts of the world. what is going on in the middle east, in europe. but there are plenty of things we can control at home. there are plenty of steps we can do right now to help grow jobs and grow this economy. let me give you a couple of examples. last september, there were lots of bipartisan ideas. i sent congress a plan that would reduce the deficit by four trillion dollars in a way that is balanced. it is for the job-creating investments we need by asking the wealthiest americans to pay a little bit more in taxes.

[cheers and applause] i will give them a little bit of credit. congress has approved a bill that i appreciated. but they have not acted enough on the ideas in that bill would happen that would help create jobs right now. there is no excuse for it. not when there are so many people out there that are still looking for work. not when there are still folks out there that are struggling to pay the bills. it is not lost on anyone that this is the election year. i know that. i have noticed. [laughter] >> four more years!

four more years! >> we have a responsibility is to you. my message to congress is, now is not the time to play politics. now is not the time to sit on your hands. the american people expect their leaders to work hard matter what your it is. economy is still not where it needs to be. there are steps that can make a difference right now. it also serve as a buffer in case the situation in europe gets any worse. by now, congress should pass a bill that would help prevent layoffs. it would put thousands of teachers, policemen, and firefighters back on the job. [cheers and applause] layoffs at the state and local levels are a chronic problem for our recovery. but it is a problem we can fix. congress should have passed a bill that would put thousands of

construction workers back on the job of rebuilding our roads and bridges and our runways. top osays the housing bubble bu, no other industry has been it worst. this is a problem we can fix. let's do it right away. instead of just talking about job creators, congress should give small business owners a tax break for hiring more workers and paying them higher wages. we can get it done. we can get it done right now. right now, congress should give every irresponsible homeowner the ability to save an average of $3,000 per year by refinancing their mortgage.

we have historically low rates right now. [cheers and applause] i was with a family a couple of weeks ago. they have the chance to refinance even though their home was under water. they put the money back in their pocket. the subsidies available for those who have mortgages held up by government agencies. not everyone has those kinds of mortgages. i want everyone to have that opportunity. i assume there are folks here who could use $3,000 per year. [cheers and applause] right now.hat done that means if you have an extra $3,000 that is good.

you can get what are the need for that furnace. you have been putting it off. [laughter] you go out and buy that thing, right? [cheers and applause] right now, congress needs to extend the tax credits for clean energy and manufacturing that are set to expire by the end of this year. the issue of energy efficiency and everything we need to do, we are making huge progress. we are importing less oil than any time in the last eight years. we are under 50%. but we can do more. these clean energy companies are hiring folks.

they are helping desperate dependence on foreign oil. it is stuff that honeyedwell is working on. why would anyone in congress walk away from those jobs? we need to pass those tax credits right now. we need to pass them right now. [cheers and applause] it is long past time we start encouraging what a lot of companies have been doing lately, which is bringing jobs back to this country. some of them -- the governor and i were talking in the car about companies coming back. right? coming back. let's give them more incentive. it is time for companies to end tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. let's give the money to companies are bringing jobs back to america.

that will make a difference right now. [cheers and applause] those are all of the things that we can be doing to strengthen the economy and provide as some insurance in case the situation overseas starts getting worse. we need to control our own destiny. we need to move this country the what. that brings a to the last thing that congress should do to help businesses create jobs. that is why i am here today. i believe that no one who fights for this country should ever have to fight for a job when they get home. [cheers and applause]

and for congress, that means creating a veterans jobs or so we can put our returning heroes back to work. they should do it right now. they should do it right now. oure're going to serve veterans as best as they have served us, we need to do more. we recently observed memorial day. it reminded of the sacrifices that others have made. we have to make sure that we translate words into action we cannot just be in a parade or march. we also need to deliver. we need to deliver for our veterans. over the past decade, more than

3 million service members have transitioned back to civilian life. now but the war in iraq is over and we are striving to wind on the war in afghanistan -- wind down the war in afghanistan , they could be done in this process of transition to civilian life of the next few years. think about the skills these veterans at an incredibly young age. think about the leadership they have learned. 20-year olds leading politicians into unbelievably dangerous situations. life or death situations. think about the cutting edge technologies they have mastered. they are able to adapt to changing situations.

you cannot get that stuff from the classroom. these kids, these men, these women, have an incredible work. that is exactly the kind of leadership and responsibility every business in america should be wanting to attract. they should be competing to attract. that is the kind of talent we need for the jobs of the future. these are the kinds of americans that every company should want to hire. [cheers and applause] that is why been here, we have made a mission to hire more veterans. [cheers and applause] let me say, he is incredibly

patriotic. honeywell as not doing this because it feels good, but because it is good for business. veterans make outstanding workers. today, i am taking executive action that will make it easier for a lot of companies to do the same thing. i have told the story before of a soldier who served as a combat medic in afghanistan. he saved lives over there. he earned a bronze star for his actions. when he came home to minnesota, he could not get a job as a first responder. think about it. this guy is out there and taking care of troops who are wounded in action. it could not initially get a job. he took classes to the post-9/11

gi bill. just so he could qualify for the same duties at home that he performed every day during the war. let me tell you something. if you can save a life on the battlefield, you consider the life in an ambulance. -- can save the life in an ambulance. [cheers and applause] if you can oversee and a convoy or millions of dollars of assets in iraq, you can help manage a supplier chain our balance its books here at home. -- or balance its books here at home.

you can work in factories here like this one. chozero [cheers and applause] it should be able to take those skills and by a manufacturing jobs right here, right here at home. but unfortunately, a lot of returning heroes with advanced skills do not get hired simply because they do not have civilian licenses or certifications that a lot of companies require. at the same time, i hear from business leaders all the time that they cannot find enough workers with the necessary skills. 80% of manufacturers say this, according to a survey. think about it. we have all of these openings and all of these skilled veterans looking for work. somehow, they are missing each other. that does not make sense. that is where executive action comes in.

that is where we will fix it. today, i am proud to announce new partnership between the military and manufacturing groups that will make it easier for companies to hire returning service members who have proved they have earned the skills our country needs. [cheers and applause] soldiers, stisailors, marines, you have a faster track to could paying manufacturing jobs. withice members w experience will have a faster track to jobs at home. i've also directed the department of defense to establish a new task force charged with finding new opportunities for service members to use the skills they

learned in the military to gain the relevant industry credentials so that it is not cost them and they did not have to take our student loans to go back to school. they can do it quicker and get on the job faster. jobs in health care and in the logistics and manufacturing and jobs as first responders. that medic i talk to you about, he does not have to prove himself over and over again. this action will create opportunity for up to thousands of service members to gain industry-recognized certifications to obtain a jobs. [cheers and applause]

we launched this last year. this will provide 500 thousands community colleges with industryrecognized credentials. it will help them secure jobs. this is on top of steps to make sure that our heroes come home and are able to share in opportunities as they have defended. when our men and women signed up to become a soldier, marine, sailor, they did not stop being a citizen. when they take off the uniform, their service to this nation does not stop. think of previous generations. today's veterans are the same. when they come home, they are looking forward to serving america in any way they can. at a time when america needs all hands on deck, the have the skills and the strength to help

lead the way. our government needs their patriotism and their ingenuity. we have hired many so far. [cheers and applause] our economy needs the outstanding talent. that is why i pushed hard for tax breaks last year for companies that hired veterans warriors.ed one yea by the way, if there are any veterans here who need jobs, even go to the white house web site.

in detroit, 2000 opportunities will be unable to veterans. i challenge business leaders to hire 100,000 post-9/11 veterans. [cheers and applause] and jill biden areide leading this effort with military families nationally. and they're mobilizing all of us to support today's military families and veterans. participating businesses have hired thousands of veterans. they have pledged to hire even

more in the coming years. i want to thank honeywell as being a partner in the initiative. right here, there have also hired hundreds of veterans in the past year. give them a big round of applause. i am proud of them. standing up for our veterans, it is not a republican or democratic responsibility. it is an american response ability. is is an irresponsibility -- i want everyone to know the we are very grateful for your service.

just what he thought for us, we will keep fighting for you. we'll keep fighting for you you will help us keep america on top of the 21st century. [applause] we are going to keep fighting just the way you did to show why it is that the united states of america is the greatest nation on earth. god bless you. god bless america. thank you. [cheers and applause] ♪

>> the opening remarks in the house budget committee hearing. house leaders eric cantor and steny hoyer adjusts the legislative agenda. a forum looking at domestic policies of the 2012 candidates. >> writing is a transactional process. it goes back to that question about, a tree falling in the forest if there is nobody there to hear it. if you have written in a wonderful novel one of the parts of the process is u one readers to be enriched by it. you have to pull everything in your disposal to do that. >> anna quindlen will talk about writing and life.

her greatest rumination on life is lots of candles and plenty of cake. she will be ready for your calls, tweet, and e-mails on c- span 2. >> today in the house members started work on 2013 spending for the energy department and federal water projects. increases funding for u.s. nuclear stockpile and fossil fuel programs. the house returns tuesday at 2:00 p.m.. >> the meeting will come to order. welcome to the house committee hearing on the growing cronyism in washington and the barriers to upward mobility.

americans still live in the most prosperous and dynamic entry in the world. our free enterprise system has lifted millions from the grips of poverty. it has increasingly -- it is increasingly challenged by washington post the misguided policies. both parties have pursue deficit driven spending aimed at favored companies, tax credits for the well-connected, and barriers that stack the deck against the average citizen. success is too often determined not by the quality of service that a business provides but by the relationship with those in power in washington. both parties share in the blame. both must work together to advance solutions to get us back on track. we passed a budget in the house that strengthens the safety net for those that needed and eliminates corporate welfare for those who do not need it. it insures a level playing field for all to prosper. the president's policy texas in

the wrong direction. he calls for greater complexity and the tax code. he insists on regulatory monstrosities that protect the entrenched at the expense of the entrepreneur were. we have seen the results of this in europe. massive spending, high taxes, and corporate favoritism has burdened the continent with the economy is unable to grow. today's hearing is an effort to explore how we can get reforms consistent with our principles and match the magnitude of today pose a challenge. we must restore america opposing exceptional promise insuring all americans -- america's exceptional promise insuring all americans can chase their dreams. i want to thank our witnesses for joining us.

we have a former governor jeb bush of florida. thank you for traveling with us today. he had been an outspoken advocate to make sure the least of us have the opportunity to rise. we also have chris edwards. chris has been a long time advocate for a simpler tax code and his insightful criticism of the favoritism that now pervades washington spending and the tax code. then we will be joined by henry waxman. starting at 9:00. he will show up hopefully by the time our opening statements and the two witnesses are done. henry is the ranking member of the energy and commerce committee. he is the minority's witness today. when the two gentlemen are done, hopefully he will be there by then.

i would like to rink to the the -- at like to go to the ranking member. >> let me start from a place we all agree. we all love america. we all believe america is a unique and special place. we all believe in american exceptional is done. the question is, how do we keep america strong, dynamic, and exceptional? on that we have different views and would make different choices. we believe our strength comes not only from the undisputed benefits of a free people pursuing their dreams but also from sometimes harnessing those talents for important national purposes. we believe america's rate as results from not only a collection of individuals acting alone for private profit but from our capacity to work together as americans for the common good. we believe on expanding

opportunities so all-american have the chance to prosper. i must confess i am a little surprised to decided to be here today to criticize the efforts made over the last three years to lift the economy out of the nest that president obama inherited -- the message that president obama inherited. president bush pursued it failed policies of trickle-down theory that would boost our economy. it lifted the yachts, but the rest of the boats ran around. the financial crisis hit and jobs went into free-fall. by the end of those eight years america experienced a net loss of private-sector jobs. when he left office we were losing 830,000 jobs a month.

american retirement savings collapsed between 2007 and the day president bush left office. our nation's fiscal health saw the greatest reversal in american history from large projected surpluses to large projected deficits. i have searched the record and as far as i can tell during the eight-year. you did not challenge the bush administration's handling of the economy, criticized the excess of spending or the rising deficits. just looking at your testimony, i am looking forward to hearing it in full. you are here to tell us government actions have prevented us from the kind of " snack back economic recovery"we have seen and other post world war ii recoveries.

two distinguished economists who are often cited by chairman ryan have demonstrated the economy's hit by a system that crises do not snapback within a year or two but take significantly longer to recover. after all, none of the other post world war ii recessions require the extraordinary actions taken by their federal reserve as well as the huge wall street bailout called for by president bush to stabilize the financial system and prevent another prevention -- prevent another depression. the tarbell was huge intervention called for president bush supported by john boehner and chairman ryan and president obama and many of us on a bipartisan basis as a necessary action to prevent a total financial meltdown with devastating consequences for the

economy. even with the rescue of the financial industry mainstream america was feeling the economic pain as millions of americans were losing their jobs. we all know what the figures were. 839,000 jobs lost per month as i say, the economy was heading down at a very rapidly collapsing rate of 8.9% negative gdp. when the president was sworn in, he was determined to take action to help those americans being heart by the economic tsunami. surely we should be willing to take action to help millions of americans don't out of work through no help of their own. the nonpartisan experts at the congressional office said created or saved up to 3 million

jobs in 2010 alone. the president also believe if we rescue the banks, surely we should prevent the auto industry from being wiped out. an action that saved millions of jobs. this was not about crony capitalism as the chairman has suggested. it was not about doing special favors -- special favors for well-connected friends. it was about making sure a critical industry had a reasonable opportunity to survive given the financial crisis going on around it. gov. romney has suggested we should have led detroit go bankrupt. the crisis should have been handled through the normal bankruptcy process. former general motors vice chairman who also happens to be the republican took umbrage with this and said "it is once again the fiction that we did not need the government.

this could have been a privately run bankruptcy with the normal chapter 11. what these people always deliberately for get is there was no money. nobody had money." when they refer to this as chronic capitalism, i think many of us take great offense. we also passed the wall street reform bill to make sure that never again would reckless gambling on wall street wreak havoc on main street and the taxpayers holding the bill. i will wrap up in a minute, mr. chairman. i would like to point out that during that period of time, we were not getting very much help from our republican colleagues. not a single republican house member voted for the recovery bill. at a single one voted for the wall street reform bill. senator mcconnell, the leader in the senate in a moment of candor

said, and i quote, "the single most important thing we need to achieve this for mr. obama to be a one-term president." we have made progress on improving the economy and jobs. are we where we want to be? absolutely not. today's job numbers shows we need to make further progress. let's learn the right lessons from what happened in the past. if we diagnose the problem wrongly then we have the wrong prescription. i do worry greatly about those who say the way for word is to adopt a souped up version of many of the policies that got us into the miss to begin with. so as we go forward, i hope we will try to find a way to get their -- i will close where i

began on a point of agreement. if there is a government program that is not achieving its intended purpose, let's amended and get rid of it. if there is a regulation outliving its usefulness, get rid of it. i hope we would adopt the same approach with special interest tax breaks. let's again remember that we have made some progress and we need to make more. let's not misdiagnose the problem. that's not learn the wrong results. >> i now know why the opening statement was so long. mr. waxman just arrived. i get it now. congressman waxman, please take your seat. we preannounced you already. mr. van holland was just announcing how excited he is

gov. bush is with us today. we see things a little differently i guess. >> do you want to say how excited you are that i am here? >> why do we not go with gov. bush, then mr. edwards, then congressman waxman. the floor is yours. >> it is a joy to be here. i did not come here to criticize anybody for the record. i came to share my views. i am not use to the 9:00 food fight that starts bright and early in washington. i am from florida where we do not start that way. it is great to be here. i am here to talk a little bit about what i think is an important subject as we try to recover the main job number is -- may jobs numbers were anemic

at best. we do have an l shape recovery. is the first since world war ii where we have not had a robust recovery. there is a cloud over our country that relates to the pessimism that we cannot restore the vitality of our economy in a way that creates opportunities. more and more people are becoming dependent at of the government at every level. it is important for this committee and policy makers to reflect on that. to figure out how to get their republicans and democrats, we can restore the right to rise in our country and restore a sense of optimism to rebuild our country. i do not question the intentions of people at all. i think there is a shared belief we need to do better. the question is how. what do we need to do in this chamber and state capitals to improve the outlook for job

creation and overall prosperity should be the dominant question across our country. i would urge you to look to your primary responsibility which is to manage the budgetary affairs of the government. that is a good place to start. at 8.2 trillion dollars the u.s. budget is a powerful force in the economy. its size means entire industries operate in constant awareness of what you all do here. when you combine the budgetary power with the separate powers of cash -- separate powers of taxation and regulation, you yield significant influence over the economy. it is not an overstatement to say that right now, the united states economy operates at the direction of the united states government and not the other way around. the growing size and influence was made possible by good intentions and hopeful policy ideas. behind every spending program, a

tax incentive, and regulation there is an idea. it might be a good idea. those good ideas and the not so good ones add up. the cost of everything you do here, every rule, every car out, earmarked drains activity investment and creative effort out of the private sector of the economy. that is why my best advice is for you to perform a fundamental cost/benefit reconsideration of many programs of the federal government. consider the unintended consequences of your actions. here is one example. there are 49 federal training programs in our country today. i wonder about that number. what do we as taxpayers get from 49 job-training programs that 29, 39, 6 could accomplish? how do we know people are choosing the right job training programs? how do we know the right people are running those programs?

should all be packaged and sent down to the states to allow the laboratories to work more effectively so you can benchmark success and develop a 21st century strategy as it relates to job training? do they operate with any sense that they could or should be closed if they fail? this is the daily worthy of american businesses and our country. these programs do not worry about being put out of business. i wonder whether they keep somebody in the private sector from building a business around providing skills training and whether that person might do a better job. in short when he tried to solve one problem you may not only failed you may create several others. if you multiply that example across the economy in multiple industries in multiple ways it is not hard to see what will happen, and it has happened. not only does the government

grow bigger, it also displays is the private economy, the innovators, the people who risk their own savings, the establishment businesses that could grow by do not. we see this and taxing programs as well. tax policies that advantage certain activities are just another form in my opinion of government spending and subsidy. while the grant to some companies and industries benefits, they also tend to disadvantage other companies and industries. this is a matter of fairness. why should a company pay taxes to support government subsidies that goes to one of their competitors? i understand there may be political support for companies and industries, but we know from recent experience the government is not ready -- is not good at picking winners and losers of the economy. it is not their job. i recognize why the government

tries to control the marketplace. i recognize it is because -- i have become clear about this because i see it in the private sector as well. there are countless examples of companies that fail to move with the market simply because a smaller and more nimbler competitor arrives first with the solution. when a big company is being to the punch it either gasoline fast and adapts or goes out of business. -- it either goes lean fast or it goes out of business. when government tries to intervene to eliminate the possibilities of failure they end up creating more of it rather than to allow the more innovative approach to work. the problem with government involvement is it does not go through the same process of innovation and sometimes fail year the exists. none of us will allow government to fail. what would occur in most

private institutions, failure followed by defunding does not happen here. i was delighted to hear the approach that maybe it should begin. that is a place i think there is a huge common ground. of programs do not work, the fund them and allow for others to come in their place are not exist at all. i want to return to the rationale behind such a process. this is not about making government more efficient. it is about making government a smaller part of the economy. we have to raise freeze the impulse to solve all problems frondizi this only makes government bigger and the problems still remain. we have to ask whether the status quo is the best way to solve problems congress set itself up to solve the. i think there are better approaches to that. i look forward to answering your

questions. >> thank you. mr. edwards. >> thank you for inviting me to testify today. i will discuss for reasons why corporate welfare is bad and i will talk about the real solutions the u.s. economic growth is unleashing an entrepreneur orship. we have trillion dollar deficits. right now we cannot afford corporate welfare or business subsidies. i estimate subsidies are about $100 billion a year. that is a small part of the total budget but a good place to start cutting. corporate welfare is unfair. the largest corporate welfare program is a farm subsidies. in my view they are like a reverse robin hud program. they take from average taxpayers and give to high income farm households. 25% above the u.s. average. farm subsidies and other

business subsidies are unfair. they take from average people and give to higher income people. corporate welfare does not work. well meeting policymakers want to support businesses because they believe it will make them more competitive. i think they backfire. on energy subsidies we have been subsidizing energy for four decades and it has been boondoggle after boondoggle. go back to the 1970's. you had a big project that was a republican boondoggle and ended up being a total failure and wasted billions of dollars. they had a democratic boondoggle under jimmy carter that wasted billions of dollars of taxpayer money that was a huge boondoggle. this is a bipartisan problem. why does corporate welfare not work? political pressure is often undermined sound economic decision making. we saw that with solyndra.

it changes the behavior of businesses. businesses become more spendthrift when they get subsidies. you see that with solyndra. they built a big fancy factory in california. a lean and competitive company would have done that. these companies invest in ris projects that often blow up. that is the story of enron. enron received reports $7 billion in subsidies during the 1990's from opec and many other federal programs. and ron would not have done on the risky foreign investing without the federal subsidies. all of those foreign projects that they took part of came crashing down and helped pull down the companies. subsidies induce bad decision

making by businesses. corporate welfare generates corruption in my view. i have always generated corruption. go on the way back to the first transcontinental railroad in the united states. that generated a huge scandal in the 1870's. the to ronald reagan's department of housing and urban development. it overflowed with corruption. the to the 1990's, i believe president clinton oppose the commerce department also overflowed with corruption. he handed out business subsidies in return for campaign contributions to the democratic party. this is a bipartisan problem. corporate subsidies do not work. what can we do to spur growth? we should unleash sauntered and newer -- entrepreneurs.

it has come from new businesses creating new industries. you can go back as i have and look at american economic history. automobiles, aircraft, electronics, cell phones, personal computers, biotechnology -- those are all new industries created by upstart entrepreneurs. getting out of the way of entrepreneurs is the most important thing we can do for the economy. modern telecommunications revolution in large part is the result of mci's battling in the 1970's to compete against the at&t monopoly. federal express created a resolution the -- revolution of battling against regulation in the 1970's. my policy recommendation, remove

subsidies, tear down barriers, and i think we will unleash more economic growth. i think repealing farm subsidies would spur innovation and the agriculture industry like new zealand. we need to go in that direction. privatizing amtrack, the air- traffic control system, those sorts of reforms i think would spur innovation and give an new areas to work in. last week we saw the space station, that is the idea the good job they can do if we give them some space. tax reform is in portland. i know the chairman supports lowering tax rates and eliminating loopholes. we do need to lower the

corporate tax rate and capital gains tax rate. it is very important for venture capital and angel investment. i support the approach to tax reform. that is about all my comments. we have all kinds of other proposal ofcato's website. >> thank you. >> i am honored to be among you to discuss this very important issue which goes to the question of what is the role of government and what is the appropriate way for a capitalist economy to succeed. all three of us believe in the capital economist -- the capitalist economy. how do we get that to function best and how do we deal with the market failures and inequities that have left us with a very stark contrast between the people who have a lot and the many who have very little as well